Summary

Chapter Four begins with a flashback to Dionne and Phaedra’s mother, Avril, which describes her mixed feelings toward Bird Hill - how she misses what she once called home, but also maintains a strong sense of disdain for it. One night when the girls are having dinner with their mother in Brooklyn, Phaedra complains about having to eat chicken every night. Avril begins ranting about how she should be thankful to be able to eat meat every night and that people in Barbados are not as lucky. To prove a point about what life is like in Barbados, she drags Phaedra into her room, packs a suitcase with summer clothes and forces her into a pair of shorts and a tank top before throwing her out and making her stand alone in the cold apartment hallway. After this incident Phaedra forges...